Three Lens Prime Travel Set, does this work?

You seem to be a wide-angle man.  I would go bonkers with so many lenses at the wide end.  Try the Olympus 75mm f1.8 for some more reach and scrap one of the wides.

The 75/1.8 is a quite compact lens suitable for travel with more reach for those details.

Or of course you could just go for a zoom that covers the wide end of the spectrum.

There is always Panorama mode if wides are not wide enough.

FirewaterSun wrote:

TL:DR; is a 15, 25, 45 prime set feasible for travel, or am I missing out on a wider-angle lens?

You could use just the 25mm if you wanted.

Anyway, seems to me like 12-32, 25mm, 45mm is the best option here.

The difference between 15mm and 17mm is pretty small. 65º vs 72º.... not huge.

The 12mm prime is a better lens, but if you're not going to use it often, and you find it too wide, then you might as well use the zoom.

You are right! I definitely prefer the slightly wide to slightly tele range - the 75mm f1.8 is definitely on the buy list! Part of the reason I want to get rid of one of the lenses is to allow room/weight for it in the camera bag. I have to confess I'm a little worried about it's length and size, and finding uses for the focal length!

For now it's a little out of reach, but it's definitely the next one I'm saving up for

Awesome, thank you! I'm really glad I'm not the only one who thought of this (It'd mean it was probably a dumb idea...) Are you OK with interiors and stuff like that with the 15? That would be my only worry really, although tests with the 12-32 set to 15 seem alright so far....

I definitely respect the 12mm and it's capability, I just don't really see it working with the way I tend to shoot, unfortunately - it'd be used way too rarely to justify the cost and space in the bag.

I'm trying to avoid zooms as much as possible - I'd only use the 12-32 at 12mm with IBIS for interiors or some such. The prime optical quality coupled with tiny size on m43 is just way too nice to pass up...

I've been doing tests with the 15 vs 17 focal length on the 12-32 and I really do think it's a big jump at least to my eyes - especially from 25mm, which would be the next prime I would use! 12 vs 15 is not that much more IMO

FirewaterSun wrote:

I have the 12, 17, 25 and 45 Olympus primes - I'm trying to pare down lenses to reach a three lens set for travel.

I love the 25 and 45 for street shooting and portraits, but the 17 and 12 don't gel with me. The 17 seems not wide enough to capture environments, especially in tighter areas, and is kinda a half-hearted 25 - if I only had one lens, this would probably be it, but with the 25 I feel it's not really useful as it's so close.

The 12 I find super wide and can only really see a few possible uses for it. Additionally, I also own the 12-32, so if I REALLY need 12 I can also use that.

Do you think it would be quite silly to replace the 12 and 17 with a Panasonic 15 f1.7? I feel like the extra 2mm width (which is not insignificant) brings a lens that can be used as a wider photojourno-esque lens, while not being as difficult to compose with as the 12.

I have decided I'm definitely looking for either a Panasonic/Olympus prime, and ideally f2 or brighter.

TL:DR; is a 15, 25, 45 prime set feasible for travel, or am I missing out on a wider-angle lens?

From my experience your not really gaining anything with fast lenses for street, back in the film days yes (a brighter viewfinder but stopping down to shoot) but for street most of us want and need dof, not shallow dof.

Thinking about the 15mm, save a whole heap and get the 14mm.

Thinking of the 75mm, save a whole heap and get the 60mm.

Looks to me like you have a bad case of gas, all those lenses and still not happy.

Why not just use 17, 25, 45? Keep 12-32.

The difference between 17 and 25 is definitely larger than that between 17 and 15 ...

I think it will work but when traveling you might struggling changing lenses. Since you might see something you want to capture and have the wrong lens on.

I travel with a 3 lens kit also:

• Olympus 9mm F8
• Panasonic 12-32mm F3.5-5.6
• Panasonic 25mm F1.7

One of them being a fisheye does constraint me in what I can do but I love using it for city scapes as there is nothing that wont fit in the frame with that wide angle view.

I also struggle a lot with lens changes mainly between the 9mm and the 12-32mm. (I dropped my camera and broke the screen while on street ).

The 25mm is only there as an insurance policy for when the light gets low and I hardly use it. With my E-M10 II's stabilization the 12-32mm's speed is not an issue for most shots that I take.

It all depends on what kind of photos you take.  Most of mine are at 9mm FE and 12mm on the zoom when I am traveling.   15mm wont be wide enough for me for sure.

....

So I'm not quite sure how replacing 2 lenses with a lens that is cheaper than 1 of them = GAS. I got the 12mm on a great deal and will earn money on the resale.

14mm at f2.5 & 60mm f2.8 I wouldn't really say is better than 1.7/1.8 at night. Especially for street. On top of which 45mm to 60mm is a bit of a waste of buying a lens for the few extra steps forwards.

Additionally this is an all round travel set as well, and I do like a bit of bokeh sometimes

but thank you for your 2 cents. happy shooting!

Fantastic, thank you, that helps alot!

Definitely going to pick up the Laowa if it's not crazy expensive - my issue with the 17 and 12 is they kinda feel not extreme enough, either too wide/long for every shot I'm trying to do (and yes, I do zoom with my feet, I'm just limited in some streets )

with a 7.5mm for ultrawide, 15mm for moderate wide and 25 for normal 45 for short tele (although maybe I will seap that for a 60/75) that gives me a 1.8ish multiplier between lenses, which does seem, I dunno...kinda neat?

FirewaterSun wrote:

....

So I'm not quite sure how replacing 2 lenses with a lens that is cheaper than 1 of them = GAS. I got the 12mm on a great deal and will earn money on the resale.

Because you already have a bunch of lenses your not happy with.

Gassy people do this.

14mm at f2.5 & 60mm f2.8 I wouldn't really say is better than 1.7/1.8 at night. Especially for street.

If you shooting at f4 to f5.6 at night why would a faster lens be better, remember you still need dof ?

On top of which 45mm to 60mm is a bit of a waste of buying a lens for the few extra steps forwards.

Additionally this is an all round travel set as well, and I do like a bit of bokeh sometimes

but thank you for your 2 cents. happy shooting!

Paulmorgan wrote:

FirewaterSun wrote:

....

So I'm not quite sure how replacing 2 lenses with a lens that is cheaper than 1 of them = GAS. I got the 12mm on a great deal and will earn money on the resale.

Because you already have a bunch of lenses your not happy with.

Gassy people do this.

14mm at f2.5 & 60mm f2.8 I wouldn't really say is better than 1.7/1.8 at night. Especially for street.

If you shooting at f4 to f5.6 at night why would a faster lens be better, remember you still need dof ?

On top of which 45mm to 60mm is a bit of a waste of buying a lens for the few extra steps forwards.

Additionally this is an all round travel set as well, and I do like a bit of bokeh sometimes

but thank you for your 2 cents. happy shooting!

Like I said. Got em at a deal. Don't like em. Love the other two lenses and won't change em for anything. I guess if that means GAS in your book instead of grinning and bearing it, sure.

Shooting at f4 at night? for walking people or snap facial expressions? You must live in really brightly lit areas, or always have the background panned out. In addition to which, it's an m43 sensor. At a 15mm focal length, 1.7 gives enough dof if you get the subject even close to in focus. I go out shooting at night with the 45 wide open and like the results. The high-end primes are amazing at autofocus in low light.

Either way it seems our philosophies are vastly differing, which is fine. You'll forgive me if I say that I probably wouldn't shoot the same way and therefore wouldn't buy the same lenses - no offence intended!